How do you love your home when it starts to feel mundane, overwhelming and irritating?
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I love my home. I will always be a home body, someone who yearns for their space of security and tranquility. I may have a wandering spirit, but my body wants to come back to the same place it knows and loves everyday.
It’s one of the biggest contradictions in my personality. I often wonder why God made me this way, as a person who loves to explore new places and see new things but then desperately needs to return to her space of safety at the end of the day.
Unfortunately, after having kids, my home doesn’t exude the peaceful, Christian qualities I would want it to. Sometimes it feels more like a fiery chaos where the floor is lava, the walls are lava and the only thing that isn’t on fire is supper because I haven’t started it yet.
More than once my husband has come home to an overstimulated, grouchy wife with two boys running around screaming incoherently at each other and anything at tail level was being whipped around the room by the dog.
This is not the sort of home I envisioned when I used to picture my family.
I didn’t want perfection but somehow I thought things would be a little calmer. I thought the mess would get cleaned up, the laundry folded and I would be able to pull my thoughts together to answer a simple adult question.
So the questions remain…
How do you love your home when it feels like chaos reigns there?
How do you love your home with there are relationship rifts and difficulties?
How do you love your home when it feels like you are the only one who cares about it?
How to Love Your Home (When It’s Hard)
I am an organized mess. This is what I have accepted about myself. Thusly, my home looks like an organized mess. Actually, to you it probably it just looks like a mess. To me it does have some organization, but it likely isn’t immediately apparent.
I get frustrated with the mess though, as things start to pile up, when it’s harder and harder to get my Bible out in the morning because of all the STUFF stacked in front of it…I start to feel like I am going to lose my mind.
It starts to feel chaotic, messy, dirty, anything but the peaceful Christian space I so desperately want (and need!)
While it is important to remember our earthly homes are only temporary, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t love them. They are the spaces where we raise our babies, make meals and share joy together. Loving your space means filling it with the Holy Spirit and letting your family grow in a place where you have set the tone to be one of love.
And I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Some homes are small, some homes need better organization, some homes are outdated. We all face struggles in our physical spaces.
So when things start to feel out of control, here are some ways to fall in love with your home again.
Clean the Mess
My blog is not about cleaning and organizing. I will never pretend like I know how to organize in a way that you should follow. But I do know if I feel overwhelmed, cleaning one area helps immensely.
For me it’s my kitchen. If my kitchen is clear of clutter, my brain is clear of clutter. But there is usually clutter in more than just the kitchen, especially with kids.
Start somewhere small that you can accomplish and tidy it up. Organize some toy bins, dust the top of a bookshelf, put the shoes away neatly…whatever it is that will make you sigh and say “that looks better.”
Love your home by rejoicing in the fact that God has made it for you!
Connect With Your Family
I find when my home feels messy, and I start to feel overwhelmed, I’m not the only one feeling this way. The other people in my home feel the same way too!
Sure we all could grab a dust rag and get to work but sometimes what we need to love our home again is to enjoy each other!
If I am feeling frustrated with my husband or kids, it probably means I need to spend quality time with them.
If the dog is driving me bananas, I need to take him for a walk.
To love your home is to love the people in your home, so love on them! Play a game together, make or bake something, read a story, give them a back rub, tell them how important they are to you. Show them love, and grow that love in your home!
(And then maybe go grab that vacuum and clean up the dog hair!)
Psst…if you’re looking for a great family game, try Taco vs. Burrito!
Look at Your Home as a Place of Worship
We sometimes have a narrow view of the space where we live. It’s a place to eat and sleep, to rest and relax but we forget that it also is a place of worship.
And no, it isn’t as elaborate as your church but it is still a place where we invite the Holy Spirit in and seek Him in all that we do.
When we treat it as a holy place, where God resides among us, we see it in a different light. It is no longer the messy, disorganized place we use as our Amazon package address, and it becomes the grace-filled, joy infused home God wants us to have.
Because it is the home He has blessed us with, and continues to bless those who are inside!
Make the Space Yours
Sometimes we need our homes to feel like home. There’s nothing wrong with adding details to make us feel comfortable or enjoy the space.
Check out local thrift stores or markets to grab used items. Make things yourself or get your children to make crafts or decor items so your space starts to feel like your own.
It doesn’t have to be the latest trend because this is your space, for you and God and no one else. Choose the colours you like, the decor that resonates with you and fill your home with things that glorify God.
Remember to Seek Comfort in Times of Struggle
Sometimes we feel disconnected from our space and wonder why God has given us a physical location that doesn’t suit us.
It is in these times we need to draw close to God and seek His comfort. We may feel uncomfortable or frustrated with our living situation but God likely has a much bigger, grander plan than what we feel right now. Finding contentment in discomfort is a learning experience but it is a gift of grace as well.
When you love your home, even if it isn’t your favourite, is to thank God for His provision and seek his leading!
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Home is Where You Make It
I remember my mum saying “Home is where you make it,” years ago and at the time I didn’t like the thought of it. I didn’t want to “make” my home, I wanted my home to be made for me.
What a weird thought to have! God doesn’t prepare spaces for us on earth that are perfect. The only perfectly prepared home is in heaven and until we get there, we will have to love the place we are in.
To love your home is to love God. It is saying “this is the home the Lord has given me, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Home really is where you make it. If you decide the four walls you reside in will be filled with joy, peace, hope and love, then of course you will grow to love your home!
Wondering what to do next? Check out my other blog posts related to this topic:
5 Practical Ways to Build a Christian Home
3 Things a Godly Home Won’t Have
Planting God’s Love Seed in Your Home
Why Children Need to Grow Up in Homes of Faith
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